Earthquakes Swarm Yellowstone National Park: Dec 2008-Jan 2009
About 900 Earthquakes in Two Weeks Rattle the Yellowstone Supervolcano
Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), which is supported jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Utah, and Yellowstone National Park, say the recent swarm of earthquakes may have ended, although a return of seismic swarm activity may occur since previous Yellowstone swarms of this size have lasted for tens of days to many weeks. The largest recorded earthquake swarm at Yellowstone occurred during the fall of 1985. There were about 3000 earthquakes over a three-month period. The latest earthquake swarm in Yellowstone occurred in 2004 with around 400 earthquakes in three days.
The Yellowstone Caldera Moves Upward Since 2004
It is important for seismologists and volcano scientists to monitor these earthquake swarms because Yellowstone National Park sits on top of an ancient supervolcano with two volcanic craters called calderas. Since the 2004 earthquake swarms at Yellowstone, the Yellowstone Caldera floor has moved upward at record pace. While scientists say that a volcanic eruption is not likely soon, they do say that the sponge-like magma chamber beneath Yellowstone National Park is filling with molten rock. Despite new equipment that enables scientists to research the uplift of the Yellowstone Caldera, they really don't know how long it will take for either a volcanic eruption or the inflow of molten rock to stop and the caldera deflates.
Yellowstone Lake, where the 2008 - 2009 earthquake swarm occurred, lies half in and half out of one of the giant eroded Yellowstone Calderas. Scientists find it interesting that the seismic activity during the past three years of uplift has remained relatively quiet. The Yellowstone earthquake swarms combined with the behavior of Yellowstone's geysers, mud pots, and fumaroles lead scientists to believe that an eruption of Yellowstone's ancient supervolcano is unlikely at this time.
The Yellowstone Supervolcano Disconnected But Not Dead
Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world. Yellowstone National Park sits on top of one of the largest volcanic hotspots on Earth, although the molten rock beneath is cooler than other volcanic hotspots like Hawaii. The last volcanic eruption in the Yellowstone area happened 600,000 years ago and the ash covered half of what is now the United States. The details and the causes of the periodic Yellowstone volcanic eruptions through time is still unknown. But, with new scientific equipment, researchers are now able to monitor the temperatures and locations of Yellowstone's volcanic plumes and earthquakes.
While the Yellowstone plume seems to be luke warm, it is still hot. It also seems that the Yellowstone plume is becoming disconnected with it's heat source of molten rock deep below the Earth's surface. Scientists warn, though, that disconnect is not the same as dead. The Yellowstone ancient supervolcano remains one of the most studied volcanic hotspots on Earth.
Sources:
University of Utah (2009, January 6). Swarm Of Small Earthquakes Rattles Yellowstone National Park, U.S. ScienceDaily
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html
University of Utah Yellowstone Earthquake Activity Maps
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html
Yellowstone's Supervolcano
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080827164142.htm
More Blasts from the Past at Yellowstone in 2002
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/07/020716081303.htm
Yellowstone Supervolcano Rises in 2007
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071108141612.htm
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
Published by Aly Adair
Aly Adair is an Air Force Veteran with a career in teaching and educational publishing. Aly has an MBA and is a former small business owner. View profile
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13 Comments
Post a Commentahahahahahahahaha! woooh! SCIENCE CURRENT EVENTS!
earthquakes stink. i hate them.
Robin Marks ?
How do you know and ok I'll ask ....When will it erupt ???
That was Eastern Standard Time ...Sorry
around 10 pm Tuesday evening 01-13-2009 Yellowstone
had another 2.1 Earthquake....2nd one today !
continued from first post....doming intersect. An eruption occurs when fractures allows a breach in the system. The area also has fractures caused by the Elephant Back Ridge uplift in the 1970's. A fracture in the lake would allow water to enter into the aquafier and geyer system. The pressure from the lake will force water into plumbing and will widen passages and collapse others. Very quickly, parts of the roof of the magma chamber start to collapse, allowing pockets to capture gas. It then becomes a cascade as earthquakes destabilze other parts of the fracture and chamber. It will happen anytime within the near future. It will happen following a major earthquake.
Sincerley,
Robin Marks
Demonstration of Eruption (Yellowstone, Hudson Bay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zULevzGwGn0&feature=channel_page
This You Tube video is my experiment to determine how a magma chamber would erupt if inundated by a lake.
I know where the fault that will rupture is located. I know how Yellowstone will erupt. And I know when.
Watch,and find out more,if you're curious. Ask a question and I'll provide the answer.
When?
The when of the eruption is tied to where of the eruption. The eruption will start along the original caldera. It will happen when The Huckleberry Ridge Tuff fracture intersects the fractures caused by the Sour Creek dome.
http://www.seis.utah.edu/helicorder/GIFs/misc/ynpwebcord.gif
On the map on this site, you will see the orignal caldera (Huckleberry) marked in orange. The Sour Creek Dome is the northern most of the two uplifted zones marked by a dashed lines, it is just north of the lake. You will see where the first caldera and the doming intersect. An
Very interesting..particularly regarding the volcanic implications.
The mentioned video at the youtube "magma chamber eruption" link is pretty stupid. "Imagine a giant tin can sitting there doing nothing, then it pukes yellow stuff into the air and on the surrounding beach towel." Also "knows" when Yellowstone will erupt? Where the fault is? How about some lottery numbers instead?
For a good explanation of how a caldera eruption occurs, look at Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldera. Another excellent site is http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/ which is the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Another good explanation of a caldera can be found at http://www.solarviews.com/eng/valles.htm There is also a good graphic that shows how the caldera collapses - much better than a puking can!
Demonstration of Eruption (Yellowstone, Hudson Bay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zULevzGwGn0&feature=channel_page
This You Tube video is my experiment to determine how a magma chamber would erupt if inundated by a lake.
I know where the fault that will rupture is located. I know how Yellowstone will erupt. And I know when.
Watch,and find out more,if you're curious. Ask a question and I'll provide the answer.